I have the pleasure of having medical students and residents in clinic with me a lot of the time. Their purpose while in clinic is to learn. Learning objectives vary depending on the trainee. For example, a third-year medical student’s goal while at the cancer centre might be to learn how to give bad news […]
Until recently, I was following an eighty-three-year-old man who has pancreas cancer. I don’t think he was ever in the road construction business, though I know he’s done his fair share of driving over the years. We had a lovely exchange about roads a few months back that I would like to share. Bill (not […]
A colleague recently had a baby. Her patients were divided between a few medical oncologists to continuously deliver their medical care while she is on maternity leave. I met one of these patients a few months ago. While getting to know him, he said the most interesting thing. Mr. R is forty-nine years young. He […]
I was finishing up a new patient clinic when I heard a difficult to hear sentence last week. It had been a long morning of meeting three new cancer patients. The first patient was the only one who still had a chance of cure. She was young, in her mid-fifties. She had recovered from a […]
I would like to write about EP again this week while he is fresh in my mind. You may remember him from the story I wrote a few months ago entitled, “Addicted To Hope”. EP and I said goodbye this week. Our goodbye has me pondering the different ways we end up walking through life. […]
One of my favorite patients over the years was named Elsie. She died in September from complications related to her metastatic colon cancer. She was lovely. So were her children. As the month of May closes, to honour Mother’s Day a few weeks ago, and to recognize what would have been a milestone birthday for […]
I would like to share a story that was shared with me by a family member of a long-term patient of mine. In my opinion, it is a story about a good death. I don’t know if my patient considered her own death a good one. I hope she did. I met JH five years […]
I met a new patient for a few brief moments last week. She had an impact on me that has and will extend far past the limits of our doctor-patient relationship. I will try to explain how and why. Kelly’s (pseudonym) first appointment with medical oncology was in a resident’s longitudinal clinic. I supervise this […]
I sit across from my patients and have the privilege of witnessing moments in their lives that are hard to explain. I see moments of joy and of despair. I see moments of disbelief and of acceptance. With AG, I saw a moment of reckoning. It was fascinating to me. I met AG in December […]
If I were to say I had a stoic patient, what would come to mind? Would you think she/he/they were brave? Would you imagine someone who was calm under pressure? Would your brain make you think this person was a master at avoiding emotional extremes? If so inclined, come up with answers to these questions. […]
Join me, through the stories I tell, and see the hope, grit, grace, and love that can be found in a cancer journey.
